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23 thoughts on “Should you be JUICING? Or BLENDING?”

I’ve done both. For just maintaining good health, I do the green smoothies. The only thing I add to the 1/2 pound of greens is a handful of organic strawberries and fresh organic ginger. And cinnamon. I want to kind that is really good for you. But I forget the name. The ginger makes a HUGE difference in taste I think. Without that I would “need” bananas.

I would only juice if I’m trying to specifically heal something. I see juicing as a healing product–all the vitamins and minerals and my body doesn’t have to do the labor of digestion. But, it’s too laborious a project for me to keep up every day.

Lovin’ your new outfits! They are fun combinations.

I send in a question the other day. Don’t know if you saw it, but I usually only watch your emails. Someone (I think you) said you were adding bone broth, and there was another video showing fish broth and a company where you can buy all the broths all made. I can’t find it now 🙁 Was it from you?

I have a Champion Juicer and have been juicing for over 8 years. My weekday ‘breakfast’ is carrots, celery, granny smith apple and ginger, sometimes adding some pineapple core (and skin if fresh). I usually add and some lemon essential oil and food-grade diatomacious earth to the juice as well. 20 minutes or less start to finish, so I don’t find it a lot slower than making a smoothie in my Vitamix, and not laborious at all. And yes I compost the dry pulp. Apart from that, your comments made a lot of sense, Thank you.

I do both juicing & blending, for different reasons/results. I use a Breville for juicing and Vitamix for blending. I re-use the pulp in juicer and freeze & label for thickening soups or creating veggie burgers. Or put in compost what us not used. One way for quicker cleanup is to put a bag or liner inside the pulp collector. Take it to compost or freeze.

Blending includes insoluble fiber, which slows digestion process (keeps you fuller), which can be helpful — especially to slow sugar spikes. Juicing gets the phytonutrients into your system faster, for quicker results. When juicing, nutritionists suggest 80% veg/20% fruits. Whether juicing or blending, be sure to rotate the greens used (kale, spinach, chard, collard, romaine, beet greens)…..and be sure to include veggies of other colors…..think colors of the rainbow (green, red, yellow, orange). I found out the hard way that darkest greens (kale, spinach, collards, chard) while healthy for you & full of nutrients, they also contain oxalates that form crystals and cling to calcium in your system that create painful kidney stones when eaten over sustained periods of time. The first time I went through a detox, I felt the lower back pain within 2 weeks and, sure enough, it was from all the dark, leafy greens.

Many juicing & blending experts fail to emphasize that it is SO important to drink tons of water (my med team suggests 1-2 gallons/day) IN ADDITION when eating/juicing/blending lots of greens, to help flush these crystals from your system and prevent the chance of kidney stones to form. An easy rule if thumb is 1 oz for every pound of body weight (I.e., 160 lb person should drink 160 oz of water daily). If the pain of the stone (and passing one) isn’t enough, perhaps the $10,000 in bills for medical treatment will be enough to convince you. Some nutritionists recommend steaming these dark leafy greens for eating, to counteract the oxalic acid. I do that when making & blending green soups.

Also…..if you have thyroid issues, many endocrinologists will suggest you limit eating those greens raw – along with cruciferous veggies such as cauliflower and broccoli. Always important to steam those before eating.

Hi Susan, I agree—except that most thyroid issues are FINE eating crucifers and greens…..and it’s been thoroughly debunked that we should steam veggies/greens to decrease oxalic acid. George Mateljan writes about this online extensively on whfoods.com.

Marilyn Flaherty to Robyn, I love you and your thoughts and recipes. I also love my original NutriBullet, which I shall update in the future. I have 6 grown children, most of which I cannot get to try Bragg ACV & Water every AM even with honey. I have enjoyed this for at least 40 years and cod liver oil since 2 yrs. Plus flax oil. I enjoy your green smoothies and follow your practice of keeping greens in the freezer as well as mixed berries. My life goes non-stop so I love re-watching your early videos. Love, Hugs and Prayers, Marilyn L. Flaherty

What is the practice of keeping greens in the freezer? Sounds like a good idea. I buy fresh greens, wash them wrap them in towels in the refrigerator and within a couple of days they are wilted or the kale has turned yellow. Please guide me to a link about using the freezer instead. Thanks!!

I have done both but currently do Smoothies. Not sure if anyone knows the answer but is it true that all Nutrition is destroyed when you make a Smoothie regardless of machine because of the speed it heats the Veggies as it breaks them down ??

Marilyn Flaherty mentions keeping greens in the freezer. Does one need to prepare them in any special way before freezing them? I have put spinach in the freezer as a temporary measure just to prevent spoilage, but only leave them there for a short period of time.

Hi John, no, it’s an old wives tale of sorts, that one should “blanche” greens before freezing. It doesn’t do anything good, just kills enzymes. I freeze greens all the time, rather than letting them go bad before I can use them.

Hi, I make smoothies only, in a Vitamix. We have an old-school juicer machine we used years ago…but didn’t like it because of the waste and clean-up. We bought tons of fruit and veggies, only to get a glass full of juice to share. There is a place downtown we go to occasionally where they make fresh wheatgrass juice. Wish it was closer. Hubby and I have a smoothie just about everyday now. I add lots to mine…greens, veggies, fruit, nuts, seeds, ginger, Tumeric, cacao, kombucha…and whatever else I can find. We love them! Thanks for all of your great information and recipes!

Hi all…as a 68 yr old woman with prior CAD Dr Esselstyn advices against juicing and blending, as it damages the endothelium. Please watch his you tube vids to understand his reasoning. Just thought I should share, especially for those with heart health conditions. After 1 year of following Dr E’s protocol, my last nuclear stress test showed my prior 100% artery and (2) 70% clogged arteries clear

Also have to add that prior to my diagnosis of CAD, I was juicing and blending daily. I have to say.. I loved doing both and I’m very sure they both nourished my body and kept me from even realizing I had a heart condition. I love this website and everything you are doing to help others learn how to become healthy and alive

Hi Robyn, I just started the 26 day detox with Manual only option. Perhaps I missed something but doing level 2, instead of the Classic Green Smoothie, you said I can do a veggie juice. Should I also be adding the recommended fruits at Phase 1, day 5-7 in the veggie juice? Also, for Phase 2 and on, do I eat all of the solid food? I just bought a juicer and wondering how much I use it for the rest of the program. I’m trying to get more clarity. Thanks.